Apparatus and method for grouping and displaying icons on a screen

• US 10,365,787 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2016
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Young-Jun, Chang, Youn Seog, Kim, Joon Woo
• Primary Examiner(s): Weng, Pei Yong
• Application Number:
  US15/218,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20160334966A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,100 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations

Abstract

A method for displaying a background screen in a mobile terminal is provided. The method includes resizing at least one of a plurality of background screens according to a first input, displaying at least one of the at least one resized background screen, detecting a second input, and transitioning among the resized background screens based on the detected second input, wherein the background screens respectively include an icon that may represent a grouping of a first icon and a second icon respectively displayed on one of the plurality of background screens.

Claims

1. A mobile device comprising:

a touch screen; and

a controller configured to;

control the touch screen to display a first icon associated to a first function and a second icon associated to a second function,

receive a first touch input that is associated with grouping the first icon and the second icon, the first touch input corresponding to an input of moving the first icon so as to at least partially overlap the second icon,

in response to the first touch input, control the touch screen to display a group icon on which representations of the first icon and the second icon are shown, wherein the representation of the first icon is smaller than the first icon and the representation of the second icon is smaller than the second icon,

receive a second touch input on the group icon, and

in response to the second touch input on the group icon, control the touch screen to display, in place of the group icon, at least one of the first icon that is larger than the representation of the first icon or the second icon that is larger than the representation of the second icon.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive a third touch input to at least one of the representation of the first icon and the representation of the second icon, after the displaying of the at least one of the representation of the first icon and the representation of the second icon, and

control to perform a function corresponding to the at least one of the first icon and the second icon.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive a third touch input to at least one of the representation of the first icon and the representation of the second icon, after the displaying of the at least one of the representation of the first icon and the representation of the second icon, and

control to ungroup at least one of the first icon and the second icon from the group icon.

4. The mobile device of claim 3, wherein the controller is further configured to display the first icon and the second icon as ungrouped relative to the group icon.

5. The mobile device of claim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to, in response to the third touch input, remove the at least one of the first icon and the second icon from the group icon.

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to display a graphical user interface on the touch screen indicating whether the first icon and the second icon are grouped.

7. The mobile device of claim 6, wherein the first icon and the second icon are displayed concurrently.

8. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive a third touch input associated with adding a third icon associated with a third function to the group icon, and

display, on the touch screen, the group icon on which a corresponding representation of the third icon is shown.

9. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the representation of the third icon is smaller than the third icon.

10. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the third touch input corresponds to at least one of moving the third icon to a preset region of the touch screen, and moving the third icon to the group icon.

11. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive a third touch input that is associated with setting the mobile device to an icon grouping mode, and

set the mobile device to the icon grouping mode in response to the third touch input.

12. A method of displaying an icon in a mobile terminal comprising a touch screen, the method comprising:

controlling the touch screen to display a first icon associated to a first function and a second icon associated to a second function,

receiving a first touch input that is associated with grouping the first icon and the second icon, the first touch input corresponding to an input of moving the first icon so as to at least partially overlap the second icon,

in response to the first touch input, controlling the touch screen to display a group icon on which representations of the first icon and the second icon are shown, wherein the representation of the first icon is smaller than the first icon and the representation of the second icon is smaller than the second icon,

receiving a second touch input on the group icon, and

in response to the second touch input on the group icon, controlling the touch screen to display, in place of the group icon, at least one of the first icon that is larger than the representation of the first icon or the second icon that is larger than the representation of the second icon.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a third touch input to at least one of the representation of the first icon and the representation of the second icon, after the displaying of the at least one of the representation of the first icon and the representation of the second icon, and

controlling to perform a function corresponding to the at least one of the first icon and the second icon.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a third touch input to at least one of the representation of the first icon and the representation of the second icon, after the displaying of the at least one of the representation of the first icon and the representation of the second icon, and

controlling to ungroup at least one of the first icon and the second icon from the group icon.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

displaying the first icon and the second icon as ungrouped relative to the group icon.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

in response to the third touch input, removing the at least one of the first icon and the second icon from the group icon.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

displaying a graphical user interface on the touch screen indicating whether the first icon and the second icon are grouped.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first icon and the second icon are displayed concurrently.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a third touch input associated with adding a third icon associated with a third function to the group icon, and

displaying, on the touch screen, the group icon on which a corresponding representation of the third icon is shown.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the representation of the third icon is smaller than the third icon.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the third touch input corresponds to at least one of moving the third icon to a preset region of the touch screen, and moving the third icon to the group icon.

22. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a third touch input that is associated with setting the mobile device to an icon grouping mode, and

setting the mobile device to the icon grouping mode in response to the third touch input.